Open Air Business January 2018

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EVENTS Discover your event's wow factor at EPS a 28 February - 1 March Olympia London Discuss the industry’s future in the Keynote Theatre Find new solutions to key challenges by meeting suppliers Network with your industry peers Gain inspiration to create innovative events Register Now eventproductionshow.co.uk You're welcome
EVENTS CASE STUDY Riverhill at Christmas A mini ‘immersive’ Alpine experience at the Riverhill Estate, Kent, complete with ice rink, reindeer and party tent In order to increase revenue to cover staffing costs for the Spring/Summer season, the Riverhill Estate’s Himalayan Gardens made use of its infrastructure in the ‘off-season’ to create a winter wonderland at Christmas. We talk to Sarah Rogers, who manages the estate with her husband Edward. Describe your event and how many people it attracted The ‘Riverhill at Christmas’ venture offered visitors a skating rink, Alpine Café and events marquee, hosting breakfast and afternoon tea with Father Christmas and pre-booked Christmas lunches and parties. Explain a bit about your venue and its history The Riverhill Estate has been home to the Rogers family since 1840. The current owner’s great, great grandfather was passionate about gardening and bought the property in order to create a fabulous hillside garden. He sponsored some of the early plant hunters who brought back “AS A JOINT VENTURE WE WERE THRILLED TO BENEFIT FROM TOFS’ EXPERIENCE OF RUNNING EVENING EVENTS AND PARTIES” specimens from the far East, hence the name ‘Riverhill Himalayan Gardens’ which, to date, has been the core business for the estate, attracting c30,000 visitors, alongside property rentals and farming income. What is the event’s history and what made you decide to run it? The gardens are open for six months of the year (March to September). As the business grew we realised that we would benefit from having permanent staff members (café manager, events manager as well as the current garden team). It was therefore important to us to generate income in the Autumn/ Winter to cover these costs. Our visitor car park which is unused in the Autumn/Winter provided the ideal location for a winter venture, with hard standing for the marquees, plenty of room for additional parking and fine views across the Weald of Kent. Visitors wouldn’t need to access the gardens, so there wouldn’t be wear and damage to these areas and essential garden restoration and maintenance could also be continued during the closed season. Having decided on a winter venture, we heard that another local business, Tonbridge Old Fire Station (TOFS), was also thinking of running a skating rink. We decided to join forces and to operate Riverhill at Christmas as a joint venture. We were thrilled to benefit from TOFS’ experience of running evening events and parties. How did you find applying for permission to run the event? The events were all covered by our existing Premises Licence. How did you plan the layout of the event and what structures did you use? The dimensions of the top terrace of the car park dictated the layout to a certain extent. With our Spring/ Summer garden opening business being weather dependent, we were determined that a winter venture should be protected from the elements, so we opted for a huge marquee with clear sides and a clear roof to cover both the skating rink and WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 47
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